I should have listened to that knowledgeable Holden driver in the pub.
My Alfa 159ti 3.2 ran faultlessly for the 3 years it was under warranty. In January the warranty expired and look what happened today.
Unbelievable. I had to replace a globe!!!!
"Those Alfas. Full of electrical problems they are", he said.
Next thing you know, it will rust and fall apart (like he said).
Dammit
That's sh*thouse. It's probably the cheap russian steel used in the globe elements.
Yeah. Crap cheap Russian steel. Those globes are full of it. I hate FIAT and what they have done to Alfa Romeo.
You know what else? You know that plastic they use for the interior? Guess what they made it out of. Plastic!!! I know, I know. Unbelievable.
It would never happen with a BMW.
And the stone chips on the front of your car, Marco - don't forget those. Never got no stone chips on the proper pre-FIAT Alfa Romeos - back when they knew how to paint a car.
The really incredible thing about that is that is was 21 degrees at 6pm in April in Melbourne.
Abso-friggin-lutely. Unheard of in the good old days. I bet you a BMW don't get no stone chips.
What about premature wear on the inner edges of the tyres. Ask a BMW owner about that and he wouldn't have a clue what you were on about.
The old ones never wore down a set of tyres.
Brakes!!! They wear down on the new ones with use. The old ones never did that. Mind you, they didn't stop as well either.
I say screw progress. Who needs it?
Quote from: alfagtv58 on April 06, 2011, 11:28:46 PM
The really incredible thing about that is that is was 21 degrees at 6pm in April in Melbourne.
Except, it was probably only 20.5 degrees. Those pesky electrics again at play.
Quote from: alfagtv100 (Biggus) on April 06, 2011, 10:18:04 PM
Unbelievable. I had to replace a globe!!!!
I bet you had the left one replaced :)
;D
Granted, my mechanical aptitude may be described as 'crap' but I am not that crap.
I work in IT so I must be intelligent and stuff.
Things go from bad to worse with this car. It consumed fuel today!! Are we allowed to say 'fuck' on this forum?
Yeah these 159s are notorious for using fluids. I keep having to top up the diesel in ours, not a lot mind - but it's still very disappointing. There's no stains on the driveway or visible leaks, so I can only assume that it's being burnt in the engine. Fiat/Alfa need to have a good hard look at themselves, how can they expect to meet their growth target without addressing quality control issues like this?
I told you it would happen. I friggin told you and it did. Just like I told you. Shit.
I hate Italy and pasta and Inter Milan and especially Alfa Romeos. They suck big hairy ones.
Fortunately, Bruno and Giancarlo at Maranello Motors were able to work some form of black magic and get this wreck back on the road again.
As a BMW about worn brake pads. "Unimaginable", they would say.
Aaaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhh.
And only 51000 kms - man these cars are lousy. And talk about depreciate (oops....maybe we won't after the article in the Age on Saturday!)
Hey I know what you mean about the reliability of these so called modern Alfas. I mean, mine needed to have some minor cosmetic surgery recently as a result of an errant rock leaping out and hitting the 156 on the side skirt, and slightly denting the cill, at my brother's home.
This sort of thing wouldn't have happened in the old days. No way !! Damn they don't make metal and plastic as strong as it used to be.
And so in the interim I have had to slum it by driving around in one of my brother's spare car (his collection is now well over 90, so he has a few spare), and a French car of all things. A $2k banger, Peugot 406 manual, 3.0, 24v quad cam V6. How can that sort of technology compare with the Alfas. Sacre blu !
Quote from: alfagtv100 (Biggus) on May 09, 2011, 11:00:35 PM
I told you it would happen. I friggin told you and it did. Just like I told you. Shit.
You should definitely get out of that car before the big bills start coming in. I'll do you a favour, I'll take it off your hands for $5k. I know I know that's more than the redbook value, but I like the shape and it's red.
Thankfully we can keep these shitboxes on the road due to the tireless efforts of true enthusiasts like Maranello Pur Sang, Monza Motors, Mauceri etc. If they weren't constantly investigating and trialling radical new methods - like 'replacing brake pads' - we'd be in big trouble.
Just the other day I was surprised to observe that while driving on a dirt road that our 159 came back coated in a dusty grey-red substance, some kind of powder. It's all over the car. I'm sure this never happened when we had the Subaru. Do you have any advice?
Evan I found with my car that no sooner then it had run out of petrol it stopped.What next will I need to keep oil in the motor?
My car's off the road while I'm waiting for ACQUA to arrive from Italy so I can see out of my windscreen! Lucky my local delicatessen has "connections".
Quote from: Ray Pignataro on May 10, 2011, 10:59:31 AM
Evan I found with my car that no sooner then it had run out of petrol it stopped.What next will I need to keep oil in the motor?
no, actually i have tested it and it will go without oil. :-[
Quote from: Joe Garra on May 10, 2011, 11:18:40 AM
My car's off the road while I'm waiting for ACQUA to arrive from Italy so I can see out of my windscreen! Lucky my local delicatessen has "connections".
No no Joe - I'm told that you can take your car to the local BMW dealer, pay them around $1500 for an oil change and tyre kick, and one of those ACQUA bottles mysteriously arrives in the glovebox when you pick it up. Serious - I read it in the Herald Sun - must be true!
Hi Evan,
I would go back to Alfa and demand they pay for a respray. I find it unacceptable in modern times that a car should become 'grubby' looking from normal driving.
Thanks for the $5k offer but I couldn't risk our friendship by taking up your very generous offer to help. I was the one who screwed-up by buying this rusty, electrically/mechanically challenged shitbox. We live and learn.
Hi Ray,
Whatever you do, never add oil. A modern car should not require major repairs like that. It would definitely be covered under warranty and I imagine there would be a major recall over this sort of thing.
Simply unacceptable.
Absolutely have to agree.
I mean shouldn't also the registration cost be covered by such deals that sellers try to promote to encourage us to buy these new shitboxes. Just because the so called warrenty ran out some years back is it really fair that I had to pay the rego today, simply so that I can continue to try to drive it, that being so long as it isn't at iminant risk of breaking down, rusting away or worse still running out of out of petrol or Aqua (who knows what that stuff is) or oil, albeit that Branko reckons they can still run without that stuff. Bloody hell it is pretty scary stuff owning one of this ei-tie cars !!! ???
........ Mine is still great.
Quote from: alfagtv100 (Biggus) on April 06, 2011, 10:18:04 PM
I should have listened to that knowledgeable Holden driver in the pub.
My Alfa 159ti 3.2 ran faultlessly for the 3 years it was under warranty. In January the warranty expired and look what happened today.
Unbelievable. I had to replace a globe!!!!
"Those Alfas. Full of electrical problems they are", he said.
Next thing you know, it will rust and fall apart (like he said).
Dammit
Good one ;D
Another item to add to the litany of woe this 159 has caused us! The other day the car wouldn't start temporarily! Immediately I thought of just cutting my losses and pushing the car onto the train lines, but I took a deep breath and went to visit my local Alfa specialist. Turns out that after some specialist diagnostics there was a faulty part - quite an obscure Italian part, I believe it was called a 'Batteria'? Must be very poorly manufactured, as it only lasted four or five years before needing replacement. The car is running fine now, but I live in fear of being stranded by this electrical nightmare again.
Now I'm told I need to buy new tyres as well! I really should have bought a reliable BMW like Sheldon said...
Quote from: Evan Bottcher on June 19, 2012, 02:23:10 PM
Now I'm told I need to buy new tyres as well! I really should have bought a reliable BMW like Sheldon said...
Hmmm, that's not the way I remember the conversation. I seem to remember talk of obscure things like 'rear-wheel-drive', 'better handling and ride', 'better quality interior', things like that.
And some more bad news about 159's, at our ZAGAME technical night, if you hit a massive pothole or curb in a 159, then you have to have the wheel alignment done ... at a dealer, not Bob Jane or anywhere else, as you need special tools, its just never ending with these Atalian cars, Colin.
We all know Alfas are unreliable because Richard said so on the Top Gear James Bond car special last night and he has owned hundreds of them.
Dont know what this olio cap means in my engine bay. I couldnt find olio at my local automotive shop but a stop at coles on the way home with the missus I saw they have a vast amount of olio extra vergine in stock. Bought about 5 drums at a bargain of $10 each. Brand was carbonell-only problem is the car stinks of fried chips after each drive.
That's the parts no. 0170, that's why you got it wrong.
But my Alfa parts supplier can never locate what the hell is that I am after.
What weight is that olio extra verging? If thin enough, should give more bhp.
I have spotted the cause of all the problems, Victorian number plates.